Beijing: Prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia is to go on trial on subversion charges today, drawing denunciations from human rights advocates who called the case an attempt to stifle dissent before Beijing's Olympic Games.

A source close to Hu's family told Reuters that his wife, father and an uncle would not be allowed to attend the trial. Only his mother can do so. Prosecutors will tell the Beijing Number One Intermediate People's Court that Hu incited subversion of state power and the socialist system on the Internet and in interviews with foreign reporters, his lawyer, Li Fangping, said earlier.

Hu will insist the charges are baseless, Li said. As China prepares to display its growing prosperity and confidence at the Olympics opening on Aug. 8, critics have said the trial shows the ruling Communist Party's desire to silence domestic critics before the Games. Hu Jia's case has been marked by grave rights violations from the outset, New York-based group Human Rights Watch said in a statement e-mailed before his trial. His arrest was political, the charges are political, and his trial is political.

Chinese government officials have repeatedly said that cases such as Hu's are handled according to the law. If convicted, Hu could be jailed for up to five years. Starting with work on behalf of rural AIDS sufferers, Hu, 34, emerged as one of the country's most vocal and active advocates of democratic rights, religious freedom and autonomy for Tibet.

A source close to the family said Hu was interrogated for six to 14 hours every night during the first month of detention. This deprivation of sleep and marathon interrogation is torture, the source told Reuters requesting anonymity for fear of repercussion. Hu was detained by police in late December after spending more than 200 days under house arrest. His wife and their 4-month-old daughter remain under house arrest, and their telephone has been cut off.

Source : UNI